Okay, so it’s a red tail in black and white. Taking a few years ago down at a wildlife refuge in Southwest Washington. It was a foggy day. I don’t know if increasing the contrast would improve the image.
Is this a composite: No
ISO 2000, 400+ 2X, F6 .3, 1000th, Sony A1, around 50% of full frame
Gorgeous bird on a great perch!
I like where you have placed the bird in the frame. There’s plenty of breathing room.
I don’t think you need extra contrast.
It’s a fine line between High Key and Black and White.
Red Tailed Hawks are a gorgeous bird and you have captured this one in a great pose. I am always fascinated with the eyes, beak and those massive talons. All these show really well in this photo. When I zoom in, I am seeing dark edges on the branches for some reason.
David, I think you’ve got pretty high contrast here and it looks right. The details in the perch and the hawk show very well. I also like the negative space. It would be a very different photo, but cropping to square with a bit of the longest branch cut off might be interesting as well.
